Doing the seemingly smallest task with pride — even if it's disposing rubbish, focusing on engagements as a means to network — even if the person is seemingly junior. These were two of three personal stories shared by Coordinating Minister for Public Services Chan Chun Sing with 74 recipients at the Public Service Commission's (PSC) scholarship awards ceremony held at Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre on Friday (July 24).In his usual candid candour, Chan, who is also Minister-in-charge of the Public Service and Minister for Defence, shared these personal anecdotes to encourage the recipients to go beyond finding meaning in the work they will undertake, but also, to «give meaning» to the work they will do.How throwing rubbish became insightsRecalling his attachment with a unit while on vacation during his studies, Chan, who received the President's Scholarship and Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Overseas Scholarship in 1988, said he did not feel «particularly useful» since he hadn't been trained in the work undertaken by the unit.

A 62-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of drink-driving after he was involved in an accident in Toa Payoh on Friday (July 24).Photographs of the accident's aftermath was uploaded on SGRV Front Man Facebook page later the same day.In the photos, a wrecked white sedan can be seen parked across a pedestrian crossing with multiple torn portions of green road dividers strewn around it.The front of the vehicle also appears significantly damaged, with its left tyre ripped from the wheel arch, lying flat on the road.Responding to queries from AsiaOne, the police said that they were alerted to an accident involving a car believed to have skidded along Toa Payoh Lorong 1 towards Toa Payoh Lorong 6 around 3am on Friday.A 62-year-old male car driver was taken conscious to hospital and was subsequently arrested for drink-driving. Police investigations are ongoing.This incident took place just hours after a van driver was arrested for driving under the influence of drink and suspected drug-related offences.

The supply of Certificates of Entitlement (COE) for the August to October period will increase by 0.17 per cent as compared to the previous quarter, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said on Friday (July 24).As compared to the 19,052 COEs issued in the May to July period — which increased by about 1 per cent — the number of COEs will rise by 33, or 0.17 per cent.Across the vehicle categories, Categories B and C will increase by around 6 per cent and 5.4 per cent respectively, while the quota for Categories A, D and E will fall by 4 per cent, 2.5 per cent, and 0.2 per cent respectively.

Salary and wrongful dismissal claims went up in 2025 compared to the year before, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) said on Friday (July 24).Wrongful dismissals increased from 0.46 per 1,000 employees in 2024 to 0.57 in 2025. The follows their Employment Standards Report 2025, which indicated that the number of incidents involving salary claims increased from 2.63 per 1,000 employees in 2024 to 2.84 in 2025.Salary claims lodged by local employees were primarily from the administrative and support service sector, followed by the professional, scientific and technical sector.For foreign employees, the construction sector made up 46 per cent of salary claims lodged, consistent with the trend from 2024.About 88 per cent of salary claims were resolved through TADM's mediation process, while the remaining 12 per cent were referred to the employment claims tribunal (ECT).In total, 92 per cent of claimants were able to fully recover their salaries and payments via TADM and the ECT, the report said.

A woman who was caught placing a baby on an HDB staircase ledge has been sentenced to two months and two weeks' jail.Lihsna Ayu Indahsari, 24, was sentenced on Thursday (July 23) after being convicted of ill-treating a child under her care.According to court documents, the Indonesian national was found to have placed the one-year-old child on the parapet ledge of a staircase landing between the fifth and sixth floors of Block 468C Admiralty Drive on May 18. The offence was committed while she was responsible for the child's care, and the act was likely to cause him unnecessary injury, according to the charge under the Children and Young Persons Act.The case drew public attention after a photo of the incident was shared online, sparking concerns over the child's safety.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said on Friday (July 24) that it will continue engaging its US counterparts over the new 12.5 per cent tariffs imposed on imported goods «produced with forced labour».Singapore is among the 60 territories hit with the new levies as US President Donald Trump's temporary 10 per cent worldwide tariffs expired on Friday midnight US Eastern time (12pm, Singapore time).An MTI spokesperson said on Friday that about one-third of the Republic's domestic exports to the US will be subjected to 12.5 per cent tariff.«Singapore does not condone the use of forced labour and has a comprehensive enforcement framework and good track record against such illegal practices within our borders,» the spokesperson said.MTI will engage the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to explore options: «Further details on how the tariff will be implemented will also be shared when ready.»

Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers cut open the tyres of a Singapore-registered rental car during an enhanced check at Woodlands Checkpoint on July 16.In a video posted on its social media accounts, ICA officers are seen using a cutter to slice open the tyres of a car.Once the tyres were cut open, yellow packets were visible inside the tyre walls. The packets were later found with cigarettes concealed within.ICA said its search and examination officers had directed the vehicle for enhanced checks, and noticed a punctured rear tyre with masking tape and styrofoam inside the tyre rim.More than 1,200 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes were found concealed within four punctured tyres and a spare tyre.A 47-year-old Singaporean man was arrested. The cigarettes and the suspect were referred to Singapore Customs for further investigation.Buying, selling, conveying, possessing or dealing with duty-unpaid goods are serious offences under the Customs Act and the Goods and Services Tax Act. Offenders can be fined up to 40 times the amount of duty and GST evaded, jailed for up to six years, or both. 

A woman confronted a man after she noticed him allegedly taking pictures of her and other girls' skirts near Haji Lane.The incident was documented by TikTok user jokaaqi, who filmed part of the confrontation. In a video uploaded on Thursday (July 23), she is heard asking the man to show her his photo gallery outside a 7-Eleven store. A woman, whom jokaaqi identifies as the man's wife, is seen standing next to him. According to jokaaqi, the man had allegedly taken pictures of other girls' skirts before proceeding to take pictures of her.«He started taking pics of me and I just avoided eye contact but bro continued on for so long and pointed the camera right at me,» she wrote. The man complied with her request and showed his photo gallery, after allegedly deleting half of the pictures.

Both the US and China have continued to approach the Asean nations in a «careful, deliberate and constructive way», and neither of them are forcing the member states to choose sides, said Singapore's Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan.«They know Asean's priorities,» added Dr Balakrishnan in an interview with the media on Thursday (July 23), as he wrapped up a five-day visit to Manila for the 59th Asean Foreign Ministers' Meeting and related meetings.Dr Balakrishnan responded candidly when asked how Singapore navigates its relationships with Asean's major dialogue partners — including the US, China and Russia — while preserving Asean's neutrality and centrality.«Let's deal with the elephant in the room — the US and China contestation. I think to their credit, both of them are trying to approach this in a careful, deliberate, and constructive way.»In particular, I would say I'm glad that at least at this point in time, neither of them are forcing us to choose sides."

Singapore Pools will hold this year's Toto National Day draw on August 7, with an estimated jackpot of $5 million. The draw will take place at 9.30pm at its Middle Road headquarters. On the draw date, all Singapore Pools branches and retailers will operate from 8am to 9pm, with sales closing at the end of operating hours. As operating hours may vary across outlets, Singapore Pools has advised its customers to check the operating hours of their nearby outlets from its website.Punters can purchase $10 and $20 National Day Draw packs at all outlets from 6.10pm on Monday, Aug 3.Each $10 pack will contain one board of Quick Pick System 7 and one board of Singapore Sweep for the upcoming draw, while each $20 pack will contain two boards of Quick Pick System 7, three boards of Quick Pick Toto Ordinary and one board of Singapore Sweep for the upcoming draw.Last year's Toto National Day draw saw a $1 Quick Pick Ordinary share purchased at the Holland Drive Betting Centre at Block 47 Holland Drive win the $5.5 million jackpot.

One diner got more than they bargained for when they ordered fried rice from a restaurant in Kampung Admiralty.The customer was left shocked after allegedly finding a small cockroach in the dish.The 11-second clip was uploaded to TikTok by user Mantaro CoconutKelapa earlier this month. In the clip, what appeared to be a small cockroach was seen inside a container of half-eaten fried rice, with its head and several legs visible.The post has since been viewed over 63,000 times as of Friday (July 24).In the caption, the diner claimed the food was purchased from Yassin restaurant.The restaurant told 8days it had spoken with the diner and resolved the matter, and declined to comment further.AsiaOne's calls to the restaurant went unanswered. Earlier this year, the same restaurant made headlines over an alleged rat infestation, after a netizen uploaded a video showing a rodent scurrying around the eatery.  AsiaOne has also reached out to the Singapore Food Agency and the National Environment Agency for comment.[[nid:738584]]helmy.saat@asiaone.com

A 21-year-old Australian woman, who allegedly stole from a shop in Changi Airport in June, was arrested upon her return to Singapore last week.She will be charged in court on Friday (July 24). Police said in a news release on Thursday evening that the incident happened at about 11.30pm on June 11, at The Shilla Duty Free outlet located in the transit area of Terminal 1.According to the police, an employee at the outlet noticed a box of perfume, valued at $312.80, missing from the display shelf.Checks on closed circuit television (CCTV) footage show the woman taking the item from the display shelf and leaving without making payment. Her identity was established and she was arrested upon her return on July 18.If found guilty of the offence of theft in dwelling, she could be jailed for up to seven years, fined, or both.The police also warned would-be perpetrators that they take a serious view of shop theft cases, adding that retailers are increasingly leveraging CCTV footages to lodge police reports against shoplifters, even when immediate apprehension is not possible.

SINGAPORE - Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC plans to deploy an additional $30 billion (S$38.8 billion) into hedge funds and is spreading its bets across AI, top executives said, while reporting its weakest long-run returns since 2020.Group Chief Investment Officer Bryan Yeo said the money would be allocated over three years and that the fund's top executives see opportunities in global macro, quantitative and multi-strategy funds, which span multiple assets and can adjust quickly when conditions change.«These are three that we believe the go-forward environment is highly conducive on, and these are also the three types of managers that can actively and dynamically manage their risk and pivot ... as the investment landscape continues to evolve with all the uncertainties,» Yeo said, adding that GIC had tripled its hedge fund investments globally over the past decade.GIC on Friday (July 24) posted an annualised 20-year real rate of return of 3.4 per cent for the period ended March 31, 2026, down from 3.8 per cent a year earlier. That was its weakest performance since the 2.7 per cent reported in 2020, according to its annual report.

HSBC said on Friday (July 24) it will sell its Singapore life and health insurance business to Germany's Allianz, in a deal valuing the unit at S$2.7 billion.The disposal is expected to generate a pre-tax gain of US$1.8 billion and an estimated up to 15 basis-point increase to CET1 for the HSBC Group, the bank said.A sale will mark another step in HSBC CEO Georges Elhedery's drive to simplify Europe's largest bank, redeploying capital into businesses and markets where it sees stronger returns, while preserving Singapore as a key wealth and wholesale banking hub.For insurers, the HSBC asset offers a rare chance to gain scale in Singapore, a wealthy, tightly regulated market where distribution and bancassurance relationships are prized.Earlier in May, HSBC had disclosed that a review of HSBC Life Singapore's insurance manufacturing business was ongoing.Bloomberg first reported on the news in the middle of June.[[nid:712561]]

Phase 2B of the registration exercise for children entering Primary 1 in 2027, which closed on Tuesday (July 21), will see 31 out of 33 oversubscribed schools conduct balloting.According to the latest vacancies and balloting status posted on the Ministry of Education's (MOE) website, Nanyang Primary School in Bukit Timah was most subscribed, with 52 pupils applying for 20 spots.The four other most subscribed schools are: 

A green Lamborghini was seen ablaze along East Coast Parkway (ECP) on Thursday afternoon (July 23), according to a Facebook post on SGRV Front Man the same day.In the post, two photographs of the burning vehicle can be seen, showing the rear of the vehicle in flames as the fire spreads to the front of the car.A separate video uploaded to Instagram by user Jeremysee.official showed dashcam footage of the vehicle burning as a driver goes past.Many users identified the vehicle as a Lamborghini Gallardo, also noting the green decals emblazoned on the side of the luxury car.In particular, users highlighted the cost of the vehicle, with many indicating how expensive it could be.While a comment described the incident as «serious», another user sarcastically quipped that it caught fire because it was a «cheap» car.According to SgCarMart, a used Lamborghini Gallardo goes for anywhere between $160,000 and $320,000. On Reddit, a separate post by user GlowQueen140 shared that the fire was «pretty large» when they drove by.

A total of 14 people have been arrested by Ministry of Manpower (MOM) enforcement officers for alleged employment-related offences.The ministry said in a news release on Thursday (July 23) that the enforcement operation was conducted across multiple locations on Tuesday.Among the 14 arrested are nine foreign workers, four company directors and one key appointment holder from an employment agency.According to MOM, they are suspected to have made false declarations, collected employment-related kickbacks, and carried out employment agency activities without a valid licence.Its ongoing investigations revealed that the four directors allegedly brought in migrant workers through inflated foreign worker quotas.They are also believed to have made fraudulent Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions to 139 locals who are not under their companies' employment.These «phantom workers» were allegedly recruited to inflate the companies' foreign worker quotas. The number of work permit holders an employer can hire is limited by a quota known as the dependency ratio ceiling (DRC).